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61st Vuelta a España - GT

Spain, August 26-September 17, 2006

Stars align for Vuelta

Defending champion Dennis Menchov is back to defend the Vuelta crown that
he inherited by default when initial winner Roberto Heras returned a positive
drugs sample. Menchov will race alongside Tour stars Oscar Pereiro, Alejandro
Valverde and Carlos Sastre. Alexandre Vinokourov, Iban Mayo and a host of local
riders looking to make a name for themselves make the battle for the overall
one to savour. The big-gun sprinters are ready as well. Robbie McEwen versus
Alessandro Petacchi is the battle royale that observers missed in the Tour -
who will emerge as the fastest in the world? John Kenny previews the
final grand tour of the year.

The favourites

Dennis Menchov (Rabobank) is a good bet to defend his Vuelta crown. Menchov
was denied the opportunity of standing on the final podium in Madrid as the
initial winner, Roberto Heras, had not been disqualified by the end of the race.
Heras returned a 'non-negative' sample for EPO on stage 20 of the race, but
his guilt was not confirmed
until November 25. The whole experience may sound vaguely familiar…. Menchov
will surely want to savour victory at the final podium presentation, not months
after the event and it may help inspire him to put in a great ride. Moreover,
there is still a small amount of doubt concerning Menchov's win as Heras has
not exhausted all the avenues of appeal.

Despite his obvious good form, Menchov is being coy about his chances for the
overall. "I'd love to win the race, but the Vuelta is a secondary objective
this year after the Tour and I don't feel as fresh this time," the Russian told
Spanish newspaper Marca. It's not unusual for sportspeople to underplay their
chances, however, so he should still be marked as a favourite.

Menchov had a great Tour de France, finishing sixth and winning
stage 11 in front of Levi Leipheimer and Floyd Landis. He can also count
on the assistance of Tour polka dot jersey winner Michael Rasmussen, who lent
Menchov valuable assistance when he struggled on l'Alpe d'Huez.

Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne - Illes Balears) will be looking to prove that
his second place in the Tour was no fluke. He may well eventually be declared
the winner of the Tour depending on what happens in the Floyd Landis affair,
but he has indicated that if he does win it will feel hollow, "One would have
liked to receive the prize in Paris after the race. It is not the same - it
doesn't have the same flavour," he
told Cyclingnews.

Pereiro may not be given the same freedom that he was afforded on stage
13 of the Tour when Phonak, T-Mobile and CSC failed to recognise him as
a serious threat, allowing him to gain 30 minutes on the peloton. In his favour
though, is the return from injury of team leader Alejandro Valverde, whose presence
opens up the attacking options for Caisse d'Epargne, who seems to have quickly
recovered from the broken collarbone that he sustained in the Tour. Vladimir
Karpets will expected to lend assistance in the mountains.

CSC will be looking to the initially reluctant Carlos Sastre, who may finish
third in the Tour depending on the outcome of the Landis case, to move up one
place from last year to first. Sastre has already ridden the Giro and the Tour
in 2006 but doesn't seem to be tired - he was in the break that escaped on the
first category Jaizkibel at the Clasica
San Sebastian - and seems mentally prepared, "I want to be at the maximum
physically as well as mentally in order to achieve a result as good as last
year, or that of the Tour. If not, it's preferable not to participate," he said.

Outsiders

Alexandre Vinokourov has been caught up in the Operacion Puerto Spanish police
drugs scandal, without any direct accusations ever having been levelled at him
- only at some of his Astana team-mates. Astana is still mired in bureaucratic
red tape in the days leading up to the race start but it looks likely that the
team will be permitted to start
sans any riders who are under the Operacion Puerto blowtorch. He was in good
form at the Tour of Germany
and the Clasica San Sebastian and will be looking for a big result to compensate
for being denied the opportunity to improve on his fifth place in the 2005 Tour.

Iban Mayo has tested the patience of tipsters over the years, but he was in
great form at San Sebastian. He's an extremely gifted climber who has not come
anywhere near realising his potential. He is young enough to reclaim his 2003
Tour form, although the sight of him abandoning in the feed zone on stage 11
would provide evidence to the contrary.

Discovery's Tom Danielson did not ride the Tour with the goal of arriving fresh
at the Vuelta and bettering his seventh place from last year. The secondary
goal is to give the relatively inexperienced rider some valuable grand tours
blooding before tackling the Tour in 2007. Disco's Johann Bruyneel said, "When
we decided Tom would be the leader for the Vuelta, which is something we decided
in the beginning of the year, we decided Tom would focus on the Giro and the
Vuelta -- the two big races he did last year. I wanted to see improvement in
both of them. After his seventh place last year in the Vuelta, he had all the
reasons to be the team leader this year if everything went to plan."

Haimar Zubeldia (Eusklatel-Euskadi) finished ninth in the Tour and will be
keyed up for a big ride in his home race if Mayo falters again. Andrey Kashechkin
(Astana) is an outsider worth watching after his second place at the Clasica
San Sebastian on August 12.

Lampre-Fondital has nominated Evgueni Petrov and Marco Marzano as riders that
could finish high in the overall standings. T-Mobile's Bernhard Kohl showed
that he can climb with the best at this year's Dauphine Libéré and will want
to show his 2007 employers, Gerolsteiner, that they have invested wisely.

Sprinters

The flat stages should provide some of the most exciting stages if the quality
of the protagonists is any guide. All the big guns will be on the Vuelta start
line from the Tour - Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)
and Erik Zabel - plus his Milram team-mate Alessandro Petacchi, who has recovered
from the knee injury that kept him out of the Tour. Petacchi should provide
plenty of fireworks with McEwen as the two vie for the unofficial title of fastest
sprinter in the world.

The winner of two stages in the Tour, Oscar Freire (Rabobank) has not recovered
from a neck injury and has withdrawn. Promising young Australian rider Will
Walker is a more than able replacement for Freire. Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital)
has been in great form recently, winning the Coppa
Bernocchi on August 17. Valverde is one of those rare riders can be counted
among the favourites for the sprinter's prize as well as for the amarillo jersey.
Of the other sprinters, Aussies Stuart O'Grady (CSC) and Mark Renshaw (Credit
Agricole) will be hoping for a stage win or two.

Race route

The 2006 profile of la Vuelta a España does not look as hard on paper as the
2005 edition. The Pyrenees have been omitted for a start and there are none
of the horror climbs that have featured in previous editions such as the Angliru
and Lagos de Covadonga. Still, there are plenty of tough climbs in the parcours
and the searing heat that can grip Spain in early September, the echelon-inducing
crosswinds and the quality of the field are sure to make the race difficult.

The Vuelta starts at the southern coastal city of Malaga on Saturday with a
team time trial covering 7.2 kilometres, which is not long enough for the strong
teams to gain any real advantage. It is a crowd pleaser, however and will serve
to sort out the GC. There are three mountain stages in the first week before
the race turns to the northwestern part of the country for three more mountain
stages. After the first rest day and a stage spent close to the Atlantic, the
race heads south to Cuenca, where the first individual time trial over 33 kilometres
will take place.

The race then heads to the Mediterranean Sea at Almussafes - and the second
rest day and a transfer to the far south again for another three mountain stages.
The final time trial before the traditional finish in Madrid will be carried
out in Rivas Vaciamadrid. The parcours totals 3129 kilometres.